Preface

Dreams Come True in Taipei

The year 2011 is a year of great harvest for Taipei City.

The Flora Expo and the 2011 IDA Congress Taipei ended on a high note, winning worldwide
acclaim. The nation's youth baseball team also bagged the gold medal in the First IBAF World
Youth League held in Taipei. What a year it has been!

Moreover, the Taipei City Government won the hosting right for the 2017 Summer Universiade,
projected to be the most spotlighted sports event ever taken place here in Taiwan. This is an
honor for the people of Taipei City and an important step for the country to raise her international
profile.

I am truly grateful for winning the right to host the Summer Universiade in 2017: the selection
process went swimmingly well. Thanks to the capable delivery of the City's soft power, the
support of all our citizens and our volunteers, we were granted this prestige to stage the
international event. Because of their collective effort, Taipei City is widely recognized by the
international community as a city capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of hosting international
events.

In addition, in year 2011, Taipei has inaugurated many projects to assist the young couples in
Taipei City in finding placement and employment, inspiring them to be fruitful and raise families.
These packages were effective in addressing a myriad of life issues they may encounter in Taipei
City.

The project,”Have a Care-free Pregnancy,”helped improve the birthrate of Taipei City to
36.45%, topping all the counties and cities in the country; it has more than doubled the national
average birthrate. The City also inaugurated preferential loans for young people who wish to
study abroad or establish a career; it was the first such policy ever in the country, and it was
positively received. Approval was granted to more than 90% of the total of 81 applications.
Interest-free loans designated for studying abroad have helped many people acquire professional
certificates; some went abroad to learn to make pastries; others chose to take on the challenges
of dancing, while still others chose to learn to fly; they earned pilot licenses and fulfilled their
dreams of flying in the blue skies.

We also pioneered the nation in building government-subsidized rental housing for young
people. The first city government subsidized rental building is located in Dalungdong and will be
allocated based on a lottery drawing. The building is in the downtown area and it boasts highquality
construction efforts; more than 1,000 people registered for the chance to rent a unit
consisting of two rooms for a small family.

With so many young people participating in the project,
passion and energy have been infused into the community;
this proves that the successful resolution of housing issues
for young people is a key element in the rejuvenation of Taipei
City. In the next three years, we will try hard to meet the goal
of building 4,808 units of government-subsidized rental housing
to ameliorate the pressure of finding affordable residence
among young people. High-quality buildings with well-organized
management are underway to ensure the highest standard of
public housing projects.

This is what Taipei City truly is. This great city is going through
changes for the better. In the coming three years, I will try to
overcome all the challenges to introduce and implement effective
policies in Taipei City.

In the coming three years, we will build 35 boulevards in
Taipei City to make it a beautiful garden city. In addition, we will
bolster new lines of transport services, one line per year, and
promote the development of a robust transport infrastructure in
the metropolitan area.

In the coming three years, improvements will be made on
Taipei Free, a free online service in public areas, to ensure faster
and broader internet coverage. We will also launch the first fiberoptic
internet service in the country so that the public can enjoy
cheaper internet service at higher speed.

When I reflect on the year gone by, a whole array of projects

– including the revitalization of the Tamsui River, and the
successful application to host the 2017 Summer Universiade

– the City Government has emerged triumphantly to stamp
out doubts. Our vision has held sway: that one has to stick to
one's convictions and welcome challenges persistently to make
positive changes in Taipei City.

My friends, let us work together to make Taipei a more
youthful, vibrant and happier city!